U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a speech at the Munich Security Conference aimed at revitalizing U.S.-European relations, while simultaneously, five European nations accused the Kremlin of poisoning Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a rare toxin. The U.S. military also reported a series of airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria on Saturday.
Rubio's speech, delivered on Saturday, was viewed by some European leaders as an olive branch after a previous antagonistic appearance by Vice President J.D. Vance at the same forum. According to Time, Rubio stated, "We want Europe to be strong," and emphasized the intertwined destinies of the U.S. and Europe, citing the two world wars of the 20th century as a reminder of their shared history. His words reassured European stakeholders, but tensions remained, according to NPR.
Simultaneously, five European countries – the U.K., France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands – released a joint statement accusing the Kremlin of poisoning Alexei Navalny. According to the Associated Press, the countries said Navalny was poisoned with a rare and lethal toxin found in the skin of poison dart frogs. Time reported that the analysis of samples taken from Navalny's body confirmed the presence of epibatidine, a toxin not naturally found in Russia, leading the European governments to conclude that the Russian government was the likely culprit. Navalny died in a remote Siberian prison two years prior.
In Syria, the U.S. military conducted a series of airstrikes against Islamic State targets on Saturday. U.S. Central Command reported 10 strikes against more than 30 IS targets between February 3 and Thursday, hitting weapons storage facilities and other infrastructure, according to the Associated Press. These strikes were in retaliation for a December ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter.
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